Like we would say in the local Nigerian parlance: ‘Africans and legacy are five and six.’
As an agripreneur, your legacy, put simply, is something valuable that you leave for those who follow after you.
Even if you are still living, your actions and gifts will continue to have an impact even after your passing.
The first step in figuring out how to leave a legacy is to determine your goals.
Let’s even talk about how to turn your farming business into a legacy if you’re into any agribusiness here in Nigeria.
The most prosperous agribusiness families do recognize that their businesses are not possessions but rather legacies that they owe to future generations to preserve.
Importantly, a farming family that places a strong focus on stewardship sees the company as something that should be nurtured and developed over time. It is not there to extract the most wealth possible in the shortest length of time. This implies that the interests of each co-owner come second to the success of the company as a whole.
Do you run a farming business? Sincerely, you need to begin to operate the tenet that the company is not a personal asset but rather a trust that has been placed in your care to pass on to your generations.
Do you still remember the good old example of Hermes? Hermès, a leading manufacturer of luxury products, received the prestigious Family Business Award from the International Institute of Management Development in 1997. More than 200 family business owners attended Bernard Puech’s acceptance speech, and he said, “We in the fifth generation do not regard ourselves as owners of the firm; we are only taking care of it for our children.” This powerful statement is an excellent example of the sacred trust that business families who have adopted a stewardship model share.
Great!
Still wondering how to turn your farming business into a legacy? We recommend the stewardship principle. The most typical value found in families that successfully pass their businesses along from one generation to the next is stewardship. Being a good steward means accepting personal accountability for leaving resources in a better condition than when you received them.
Stewardship derives from the age-old notion that it is an honorable position that gives the steward meaning and pride to prudently manage and pass on privilege and property.
A businessperson or owner who places a high value on stewardship considers it his or her job, responsibility and privilege to pass the agribusiness on to others so they can develop it and use it in a similar way, fostering a cycle of advancement and progress across the generations.
Stewardship-oriented agribusiness owners will be more willing to submit to the challenging succession process. They are encouraged by stewardship to train a successor or successors.
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